Military training must necessarily be conducted in an environment that will simulate anticipated combat operations as accurately as possible. For a comprehensive training program, this requires the ability and flexibility to relocate and set-up several different types of training environments. In general, training sites may need to selectively simulate either an urban, suburban, or an open terrain environment.
For a training site, the realism that can be attained when simulating a particular environment can be clearly enhanced by introducing indigenous persons (i.e. actors) into the training scenario. In addition to the indigenous persons, urban and suburban environments can be even more realistic when trainees are confronted by obstacles, such as buildings (e.g. habitats). In most instances, such structures can be relatively modest. Nevertheless, their integration into the training scenario requires planning.
Providing realistic buildings for a training environment requires the collective consideration of several factors. For one, the buildings need to present a visual perception accurate for the particular training scenario. Stated differently, they need to “look the part.” For another, it is desirable that structures assembled on the training site be capable of relatively easy disassembly for relocation to another training site and subsequent use. The use of state-of-the-art movie industry special effects, role players, proprietary techniques, training scenarios, facilities, mobile structures, sets, props, and equipment, all contribute to the Hyper-Realistic™ training model and serve to increase the quality of training.
For military mountain locations such as the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Center, near Bridgeport, Calif., the 8,000 feet elevation is accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles. Some mountains, such as those in Fort Irwin, Calif., are accessible only by helicopter. Additionally, only non-permanent structures may be placed on the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Center due to regulations, the nature of the military compound, and the environment. With this last point in mind, the ability to easily transport, assemble, and disassemble a building used as a training aide is a key consideration.
Heretofore, military combat training scenarios have been conducted either on open terrain, or at locations where there were pre-existing buildings or structures. The alternative has been to bring prefabricated components of buildings to a training site and then assemble the components to create the building. Typically, this has required special equipment, considerable man-hours of labor, and sometimes even requiring the assistance of Military Construction Units (MILCON); requiring significant military financial resources to erect and disassemble such “non-permanent” structures.
In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a training environment which can utilize the Hyper-Realistic™ combat environment at any on-site location in a variety of complex, tactically challenging configurations. It would be further advantageous to provide a training environment where the structures are field-repairable. This allows realistic visual feedback to trainees during live fire field exercise, while still allowing multiple training runs without the need to replace training structures.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a repairable construction set and method for assembling and disassembling an RHU in a variety of configurations, at a training site, with as few as two persons. Alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to provide a repairable non-permanent construction set, having the ability of off-site assembly for air transport to facilitate training in remote locations or at high altitudes for specialized military training without the need for MILCON. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a construction set that requires the use of only a single, hand operated tool for the assembly and disassembly of an entire RHU. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a construction set for the assembly and disassembly of an entire RHU that is relatively simple to manufacture, extremely simple to use, and comparatively cost effective.